Men's showers, women's showers, changing rooms, partitions — that was the original layout of the space, and the reason for its name. In 2017, this decommissioned staff bathhouse at a battery factory in Kunming was brought back to life inside the M60 Creative Park, becoming one of the city's first independent cultural spaces to draw real attention.

Within 150 square metres: exhibitions, live performances, guest accommodation, food, coffee, and a terrace for sitting in the sun. It wasn't a venue with a category — it was closer to a prototype for a way of living. Every day it was open, I was making decisions about what this space should be. My answer was always the same: fluid, international.

A Korean florist and a Kunming florist built an installation together across the entire space. A Danish choreographer and a Yunnan dance company created improvised performances. A Swedish experimental noise act and a local DJ shared the same bill on the same night. Airbnb was still operating in China then, and the Zaotang drew travellers from everywhere. This was before the era of influencer-driven destinations — what happened here were real encounters between visitors and Kunming's local cultural scene.